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Chore Dependencies

Chore dependencies let you chain chores together so one only becomes available after others are finished. A chore with dependencies stays locked until every chore it depends on has been completed and approved today by the same child — then it unlocks for that child.

The Chores tab, where dependencies are set

This turns a loose list of chores into an ordered routine: tidy the room before vacuuming, clear the table before loading the dishwasher.

How It Works

Each chore can list one or more prerequisite chores it depends on (the depends_on field — a list of chore IDs). The dependent chore is only available to a child when all of its prerequisites are satisfied for that child:

  • Each prerequisite must have an approved completion (a pending, not-yet-approved completion does not count).
  • The completion must have been made today, by the same child who is trying to do the dependent chore.
  • Parent chore completions count; bonus sub-task completions do not.

Because the check is evaluated per day, dependencies reset every night. Yesterday's approved prerequisites don't carry over — the child has to work back up the chain each day. If a prerequisite is rejected (or an approval is undone), the dependent chore locks again until the prerequisite is re-completed and re-approved.

Setting Dependencies

Open the chore editor in the Admin Panel → Chores → Edit chore. Below the assignment options there's a "Depends on" picker listing your other chores. Tap a chore to mark it as a prerequisite; tap again to remove it. (A chore can't depend on itself, so it never appears in its own list.)

The editor hint sums it up: "This chore stays hidden until the selected chores are approved for the child today."

You can select several prerequisites — they must all be satisfied before the dependent chore unlocks.

Effect on Availability and Visibility

Dependencies are one more gate on top of everything else that decides whether a child sees a chore. A chore that is scheduled and due today can still be locked purely because its prerequisites aren't done yet. Dependencies are checked alongside:

  • The chore's schedule (see Chore Scheduling) — a dependent chore must still be due today and have its prerequisites met.
  • Rotation assignment, vacation/away status, and per-child disabling.
  • Any Dynamic Chore Visibility entity condition.

While locked, how the dependent chore appears is controlled by the child card's dependency_mode option:

Value Behaviour
hide (default) The chore isn't shown at all until it unlocks. Matches the backend, which simply reports it unavailable.
dim Shown greyed out and not tappable, with a "Do X first" note naming the prerequisite, so the child can see what unlocks it.
show Shown at normal opacity, still not tappable.

Set it in the card editor under Chores Waiting On Another, or in YAML:

type: custom:taskmate-child-card
entity: sensor.taskmate_overview
child_id: <child_id>
dependency_mode: dim

Under every mode the tap is refused, on all six card designs and in picture mode — the backend would reject the completion anyway. Once the last prerequisite is approved, the chore unlocks for the child on the next refresh.

Example

A bedtime routine, all assigned to the same child:

  1. Tidy room — no dependencies, available from the start of the day.
  2. Vacuum — depends on Tidy room. Hidden until Tidy room is approved.
  3. Put out pyjamas — depends on Vacuum. Hidden until Vacuum is approved.

The child can only ever see the next step in the chain, in order, and only after a parent has approved the previous one — each day afresh.